ROCKFORD — Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka is traveling the state this week to announce a new database that will make local government financial information available.

Topinka’s first news conference was Monday in Chicago and then she made a stop in Rockford around the lunch hour. She’s also stopping in Moline, Springfield, Peoria, Quincy and Carbondale. The tour runs through Wednesday.

Topinka’s office is calling the database “The Warehouse” and says it will put records in one place so taxpayers can review them. It will include information from 5,200 counties, municipalities and special taxing districts across Illinois. The site also has a “compare data” function that lets users compare governments.

“This user-friendly database allows taxpayers to scour our office ‘Warehouse’ from wherever they are located,” Topinka said. “There is no reason that residents should have to file Freedom of Information requests or sort through mountains of paper to see how their money is being spent. That information should be at their fingertips, and that’s what The Warehouse accomplishes.”

Visitors to the site can search records by report type, unit of government or community name. Once a local government is selected, users will be taken to a landing page where they can view a snapshot of local finances, annual financial reports and audits.